Pamela Anderson

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For other people named Pamela Anderson, see Pamela Anderson (disambiguation).

Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian American actress, model, producer, author, activist, and former showgirl, known for her roles on the television series Home Improvement, Baywatch, and V.I.P.She was chosen as a Playmate of the Month for Playboy magazine in February 1990.[1] For a time, she was known as Pamela Anderson Lee (or Pamela Lee) after marrying Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. She holds both United States and Canadian citizenship.[2]

Anderson was born in Ladysmith, British Columbia, the daughter of Barry Anderson, a furnace repairman, and Carol (née Grosco), a waitress.[3] Her great-grandfather, Juho Hyytiäinen, was Finnish, a native of Saarijärvi, and left Finland in 1908,[4] changing his name to Anderson when he arrived as an immigrant. Anderson also has Russian ancestry on her mother’s side.[5]

After graduating from Highland Secondary School in 1985, Anderson moved to Vancouver and worked as a fitness instructor. During the summer of 1989, Anderson went with her friends to a BC Lions game at BC Place; during the game she was shown on the stadium screen wearing a Labatt‘s t-shirt, causing the crowd to cheer for the 21-year-old Anderson. She was taken down to the field to receive an ovation from the crowd. Labatt’s had the opportunity to hire Canadian model Pamela Anderson as a Labatt’s Blue Zone Girl after she was picked out of the crowd by a TV camera man at a BC Lions football game wearing a Blue Zone crop-top. Photographer and boyfriend Dan Ilicic produced the Blue Zone Girl poster on his own.[6] In October 1989 she appeared as the cover girl on Playboy magazine. At this stage in her modeling career, she had decided to live in Los Angeles to further pursue her career ambitions. She became a centerfold for Playboy when the magazine chose her to be their Playmate of the Month for their February 1990 issue. She then chose to get breast implants. Anderson has since appeared in Playboy several times in the 1990s and 2000s.

After her move to Los Angeles, she won a minor role as the original “Tool Time girl” on the hit television sitcom, Home Improvement. She left the show after two seasons and won the role of C. J. Parker on Baywatch, a role she played between 1992 and 1997. Anderson was still modeling for Outdoor Life and appearing on the cover of the magazine each year. In 1992 Pam appeared in a music video “Can’t Have Your Cake” by Vince Neal to promote his first solo album “Exposed” in which Steve Stevens played all guitars for the recording of that project.In 1996, she acted in the film Barb Wire playing Barbara Rose Kopetski, which was thought by some to be Anderson’s real name. The movie, a thinly veiled futuristic remake of Casablanca, was not a commercial success. In April 1997, she guest-hosted Saturday Night Live. She also appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy.In September 1998, Anderson starred as Vallery Irons in the Sony Pictures Entertainment hit syndicated show V.I.P. created by J. F. Lawton.[7] Blending action and humor in a fast-paced adventure series, with Anderson often poking fun at her tabloid image,[8] the show explored the excit
in
g and sometimes treacherous lives of the rich and famous.[9] The series lasted through a successful four year run.[10]In 1999, she appeared as a giantess in the music video for “Miserable” by California alternative rock band Lit.Her role as C.J. Parker gave her more popularity and gained her attention from international viewers. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. She also appeared on The Nanny as Fran’s rival, Heather Biblow.

Anderson aboard USS Ronald Reagan, (2004)In early 2004, Anderson returned to the spotlight. In May, she appeared naked on the cover of Playboy magazine. It was the first time she had appeared naked on any magazine cover. Later, she posed naked for Stuff and GQ magazines.Anderson became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 12, 2004, while retaining her Canadian citizenship. She has lived in Southern California since 1989.In 2004, she released the book Star, co-written by Eric Shaw Quinn, about a teenager trying to become famous. After this, she began touring the United States, signing autographs for fans at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Her second book, the sequel Star Struck, released in 2005, is a thinly veiled look at her life with Tommy Lee and the trials of celebrity life.In April 2005, Anderson starred in a new Fox sitcom Stacked as Skyler Dayton, a party girl who goes to work at a bookstore. It was canceled on May 18, 2006, after two seasons, although some episodes had not been aired. On August 14, 2005, Comedy Central created the Roast of Pamela Anderson to honor the sex symbol for the past decade. During her final speech at the Roast, Anderson referred to her breasts as “Pancho and Lefty”.In December 2005, NBC cut off a video of Anderson pole dancing on Elton John‘s “The Red Piano.” NBC said that the footage was inappropriate for prime time. The video was shown on huge screens during the event, while John played “The Bitch is Back”.In March 2006, it was announced that Anderson would receive a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame thanks to her many years as a model and actress. She is only the second model to receive a star. In April 2006, Anderson hosted Canada’s Juno Awards, becoming the first non-singer and model to do so.Anderson was repeatedly referenced in the 2006 mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan as the title character seeks to kidnap and marry her. Anderson appears in person at the end of the film confronted by Borat in a staged botched abduction.[11]She performed on February 13–14, 2008 in a Valentine’s Day striptease act at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris.[12]On July 9, 2008, Anderson entered the Australian Big Brother house for a three-day visit.[13] Her appearance on this show also marked Anderson’s foray into reality television with a series of her own, Pam: Girl on the Loose, which debuted on August 3, 2008 on E! in the United States.In December 2009, Anderson guest-starred as Genie of the Lamp in the pantomime Aladdin at the New Wimbledon Theatre in Wimbledon, south-west London, England.[14][15] Anderson took over the role from comedienne Ruby Wax, with former EastEnders actress Anita Dobson and comedian Paul O’Grady also booked for the role.[16] In the spring of 2010, Anderson appeared as one of the contestants on Dancing with the Stars.

In addition to her fame from modeling and acting, Anderson has received a great deal of press attention for her well-publicized personal life. Her relationships have made headlines in gossip magazines for years. Anderson married Tommy Lee, drummer of Mötley Crüe, on February 19, 1995, after knowing him for only 96 hours and the couple eventually had two sons, Brandon Thomas Lee (b. June 6, 1996) and Dylan Jagger Lee (b. December 29, 1997), named after Pamela’s great grandfather Dale Jagger Grosco who fought in World War II. During this time, she was known professionally as Pamela Anderson Lee. Anderson filed for divorce from Lee twice and reconciled with him twice, before the couple finally broke up for good, however, she admitted to newspapers that she still often had sex with him since their divorce.[17] In March 2002, Anderson publicly stated that she had contracted the Hepatitis C virus from Lee (supposedly from sharing tattoo needles), and began writing a regular column for Jane magazine. In October 2003, Anderson jokingly said on Howard Stern‘s radio show that she does not expect to live more than ten or fifteen years,[18] but this was misconstrued and taken seriously by many websites and tabloids.A sex tape of Anderson and Tommy Lee on their honeymoon was stolen from their home, and made a huge stir on the Internet. Anderson sued the video distribution company, Internet Entertainment Group. Ultimately, the Lees entered into a confidential settlement agreement with IEG. Thereafter, the company began making the tape available to subscribers to its Web sites again, resulting in triple the normal traffic on the site.[19]

Anderson and Kid Rock in 2003A second tape, which was made before the Tommy Lee tape, involving Anderson and musician Bret Michaels from Poison was later announced, and an abridged version of less than 60 seconds appeared on the internet. Frames of the video first appeared in Penthouse magazine in March 1998. The tape was successfully blocked by Michaels, but a four-minute sex tape is still available on the Internet.Since her divorce, she was engaged to the model Marcus Schenkenberg and to the singer Kid Rock (Robert J. Ritchie). She broke up with Schenkenberg in 2001 and with Kid Rock in 2003. It was announced on July 18, 2006 that she would marry Kid Rock on July 29, 2006, on a yacht near St Tropez, France. “Feels like I’ve been stuck in a time warp,” said Anderson in her blog entry. “Not able to let go of MY family picture … it’s been sad and lonely and frustrating … I’ve raised my kids alone in hope of a miracle. Well my miracle came and went. And came back and back because he knew that I’d wake up one day and realize that I was waiting for nothing.” “I’m moving on,” she declared. “I feel like I’m finally free … I’m in love.” There was extensive unconfirmed media speculation that the marriage was pregnancy-related, but the theory was based only on Anderson’s representative’s refusal to comment on the question.[20]On November 10, 2006, it was announced that Anderson miscarried while in Vancouver shooting a new film, Blonde and Blonder.[21] Seventeen days later, on November 27, 2006, Anderson filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court from Kid Rock, citing irreconcilable differences.[22] Some news reports have suggested that Kid Rock’s outrage during a screening of Borat, in which she plays a cameo role, led to the filing for divorce two weeks later.[23]And

erson told talk show host Ellen DeGeneres in September 2007 that she was engaged. On September 29, Anderson and Rick Salomon, applied for a marriage license in Las Vegas.[24] Anderson married Salomon between her two nightly appearances at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Hans Klok‘s magic show in a small wedding ceremony at The Mirage on October 6, 2007.[25] However, the couple separated on December 13, and on February 22, 2008, Anderson requested through the courts that the marriage be annulled citing fraud.[26]

Anderson promoting vegetarianismAnderson is a vegetarian, an advocate for animal rights, and an active member of the animal protection organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), taking part in several campaigns for animal rights.[27] She became a vegetarian in her early teens when she saw her father cleaning an animal he had hunted.[28]One of Anderson’s campaigns as a member of PETA has been against the use of fur. In 1999, Anderson received the first Linda McCartney Memorial Award for animal rights protectors, in recognition of her campaign. In 2003, Anderson stripped down for PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” advertising campaign. On June 28, 2006, Anderson posed naked with other protesters on a window display of the Stella McCartney boutique in London, England. It was a PETA gala event before the PETA Humanitarian Awards. Anderson went inside the boutique and said she would take her clothes off if the event raised enough money for PETA, which it did.She has also campaigned against Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 2001, Anderson released a letter in support of PETA’s campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken, stating “What KFC does to 750 million chickens each year is not civilized or acceptable.” She later made a video about KFC’s treatment of chickens.[29] In January 2006, Anderson requested that the Governor of Kentucky remove a bust of Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, from display but her request was refused even when she offered her own bust in exchange. In February 2006, Anderson decided to boycott the Kentucky Derby because of its support for Kentucky Fried Chicken.She has also campaigned against seal hunting in Canada. In March 2006, Anderson asked to speak to Prime Minister Stephen Harper about the annual seal hunt but she was refused. In May 2006, she petitioned random individuals on the street for their opinion on the Canadian Seal Hunt. In December, 2009, Anderson, photographed in a t-shirt with a drawn picture of a seal pup on it, was featured in a new ad campaign for PETA. She appears next to the headline “Save the Seals” in the ad and urges the public to help end “Canada’s annual seal slaughter.”[30]Anderson joined forces with PETA in a campaign for the boycott of fruit-juice maker POM. The “Pom Horrible Campaign”[31] has resulted in the company halting animal tests.In March 2005, Anderson became a spokesmodel for MAC Cosmetics‘s MAC AIDS Fund, which helped people affected by AIDS and HIV. After becoming the official spokesmodel, Anderson raised money during events in Toronto, Tokyo, Dublin, and Athens.Anderson became the celebrity spokesperson for the American Liver Foundation, and served as the Grand Marshal of the SOS motorcycle ride fundraiser.She wrote an open letter to President Barack Obama urging the legalization of cannabis.[32]Anderson became the center of controversy when she posed in a bikini nearly nude for a PETA ad that was banned in Canada because they said the ad was sexist. Anderson retorted saying, “In a city that is known for its exotic dancing and for being progressive and edgy, how sad that a woman would be banned from using her own body in a political protest over the suffering of cows and chickens. In some parts of the world, women are forced to cover their whole bodies with burqas — is that next? I didn’t think that Canada would be so puritanical.” [33]

Year

Title

Role

Notes

1991

Taking of Beverly Hills, TheThe Taking of Beverly Hills

Cheerleader

Action film

1993

Snapdragon

Felicity

Thriller film

1994

Raw Justice

Sarah

Thriller film

1995

Naked Souls

Britt

Independent thriller film

1996

Barb Wire

Barb Wire

Sci-Fi film

2001

Making of Bret Michaels, TheThe Making of Bret Michaels

Documentary film

2002

Scooby-Doo

Herself

Uncredited

2003

Scary Movie 3

Becca

Comedy spoof film

2003

Pauly Shore Is Dead

Herself

Comedy/mockumentary film

2005

No Rules

Herself

Action movie

2006

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

roximately two decades (1989–2007), and she has appeared on more Playboy covers than anyone else.[34] She has also made appearances in the publication’s newsstand specials.

During an appearance at the World Wrestling Federation’s Royal Rumble in 1995, Anderson promised that she would accompany the winner of the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania. Anderson returned for her appearance at the World Wrestling Federation’s WrestleMania XI on April 2, but as the guest valet for WWF World Heavyweight Champion Diesel and not the Royal Rumble winner, his opponent Shawn Michaels; Michaels ended up being accompanied to the ring by Jenny McCarthy. After pinning Michaels, Diesel left with both Anderson and McCarthy.

In anticipation of her appearance at the Royal Rumble, several skits were produced featuring wrestlers fawning over Anderson. One commercial featured Anderson coming home and checking her answering machine. As Anderson strips down behind a curtain, messages from wrestlers such as Shawn Michaels, Diesel, and Doink the Clown can be heard.

At the 2006 Canada’s Walk of Fame induction ceremony, Anderson shared a kiss with WWE diva and fellow Canadian Trish Stratus.

She appeared on former Pro Wrestling commentator Mark Madden‘s Pittsburgh-based sports talk radio show in October, 2006.

Anderson was a contestant on the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with professional Damian Whitewood. The season premiered on Monday, March 22, 2010,[35] and after seven weeks, Anderson was eliminated.[36]

‘Newman House’ in the Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, AustraliaNewman House is a pop architecture building constructed in 2003 in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia, which features a large image of Anderson’s face. Sam Newman commissioned local architect Cassandra Fahey to design the building, and used the image with Anderson’s permission. Permits were issued retroactively when it became a major local landmark and won the award for Best New Residential Building in the RAIA Victorian Architecture Awards.[37]Serbian comedy rock band Prljavi Inspektor Blaža i Kljunovi released the song “Lepa si, Pamela” (trans. “You’re Beautiful, Pamela”) on their 1998 album Seks, droga i Bodiroga (Sex, Drugs and Bodiroga). In the song the band’s frontman Igor “Prljavi Inspektor Blaža” Blažević declares his love to Pamela and makes threats to Tommy Lee, and the album cover features an image of Pamela and Blažević in bed. In 2009 Blažević met Pamela in Belgrade, presenting her with the Seks, droga i Bodiroga disc.[38]Anderson is also seen on the television series, Invader Zim, appearing in “Walk of Doom”, “Dib’s Wonderful Life of Doom”, “Mortos de Soulstealer”, and “The Girl Who Cried Gnome”. However, she did not speak in her appearance on the show.